Abstract
The biblical language of “for ever and ever,” “unquenchable fire,” and “eternal punishment” does not describe endless conscious torment, but rather the irreversible and complete annihilation of sin and unrepentant sinners. By examining the Old Testament context for these phrases, it becomes clear that God’s final justice, executed through Christ, is a consuming fire that results in permanent destruction—turning the wicked to ashes—thus purifying the universe and vindicating God’s character of love and justice.
Introduction
What if one of Christianity’s most widespread teachings about God’s character was profoundly misunderstood? The doctrine of an eternally burning hell where sinners are consciously tormented forever has become an abhorrent misrepresentation of God, driving many to atheism because they cannot reconcile it with a God of love. Is it possible the Scriptures paint a different picture of God’s final justice? Could terms like “everlasting fire” and “unquenchable fire” point not to an endless process of torture, but to the finality of a fire whose result—complete destruction—is what lasts forever?
The Smoke that Ascends “For Ever”
The book of Revelation contains some of the most sobering language in Scripture regarding the fate of the wicked, describing a torment whose smoke ascends “for ever and ever.”
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
This imagery is also used for the final judgment of the devil, the beast, and the false prophet.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
To understand this apocalyptic language, it is crucial to see how the Old Testament uses similar expressions. The prophet Isaiah uses the exact same imagery to describe the judgment upon the land of Edom.
9 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
While the smoke ascends “for ever,” the result is not endless burning but total desolation and emptiness. The inhabitants are not being perpetually tortured; they are gone.
11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.
12 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.
This suggests that “for ever and ever” can describe the permanence of the result—an eternal destruction from which there is no recovery.
The Language of Complete Consumption
Other scriptures describe this final judgment not as preservation in pain, but as a complete consumption and eradication. The wicked are not immortalized in suffering; they are destroyed.
20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
Malachi is even more explicit. The wicked are compared to stubble that is utterly burned up, becoming ashes. This is the opposite of eternal preservation. Christ, the “Sun of righteousness,” presides over a final purification of the earth from sin.
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
Even Satan, the author of sin, meets this same end. He is not the eternal ruler of a fiery kingdom, but is turned to ashes and ceases to exist. His end is not endless torment, but a complete end to his being.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
Defining “Eternal” and “Unquenchable”
But what of terms like “everlasting fire” and “unquenchable fire”? Jude provides a key example.
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha… are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are not still burning today. The fire was “eternal” in its effects—their destruction was permanent. This helps us understand what Christ meant when He spoke of the fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Likewise, “unquenchable” does not mean a fire that never goes out. It means a fire that cannot be stopped until its purpose of total consumption is complete. John the Baptist uses this term for the fire Christ will use to purge His floor.
12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Jeremiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be devoured by a fire that “shall not be quenched.” This fire came with the Babylonian invasion, destroyed the city, and then went out once its fuel was gone.
27 But if ye will not hearken unto me… then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
The Worm That Dieth Not
Christ’s warning about hell fire, where “their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched,” is a direct quotation from Isaiah.
47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Looking at the original context in Isaiah reveals a crucial detail: the worm and the fire are consuming carcases—dead bodies—not torturing living, conscious beings. This is an image of complete and shameful destruction, where the agents of decay are unstoppable until the body is gone.
24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
The final judgment, therefore, is one of total eradication. It is a fire from God that devours His enemies until they are no more, ensuring they will never rise again to disrupt the peace of His eternal kingdom.
10 Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
Conclusion
The final judgment is not a showcase of eternal suffering, but the ultimate triumph of Christ over sin. His victory is so complete that evil is not contained, but eradicated. The “second death” is a true death, an everlasting destruction that cleanses the universe and allows God to make all things new, fully revealing His character of perfect justice and unfailing love.